Cavil's Run: The Fall of the Twelve Colonies
by Bard the Kiwi
Summary: The Twelve Colonies in their final hour. Twelve Cavils attempting to discover the truth about humanity before the final end. Twelve simultaneous short stories set at the moment the colonies fell.
1. PICON

**Cavil's Run – The Fall of the Twelve Colonies**

01 - Picon

"C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

James ran after his room mate, knowing he could beat him in a sprint. But he and Liam had been running for 15 minutes now, and Liam always had the endurance to go for longer.

Racing past a fruit stand, James almost knocked a bowl of Aerilon melons to the ground, not to mention the greengrocer trying to keep his stall from tipping over. He heard the man yell obscenities in his native Tauron language, but James had never learnt Old Tauron, and kept running. Both men rounded the nearest car parking building, finally catching sight of their goal.

Picon Fleet Headquarters lay before them, a large sprawling complex of buildings and structures no more than 15 storeys high, fully defended by armed sentries on the roofs and walls. Their dorm was already inside the perimeter of the headquarters but security never gave anyone an inch. Even now James could see a couple of Marines beginning to remove their side arms, prompting both men to slow to a jog.

"What time do you call this?" said an authoritative voice. James saw an older man step through the cordon, putting his hand on the nearest Marine's gun, signaling it was ok to let these two through. James spotted the strips on the man's arms and knew they were in more trouble than they thought – this guy was a General.

"You both are extremely late for the ceremony, GET INSIDE!" he yelled, and both James and Liam suddenly found themselves sprinting for the main doorway up the stairway entrance.

…

Once inside, both men were treated to the mandatory security checks, including pat downs, x-rays and several layers of identity confirmations. After the check points the General indicated both men should follow them down a hallway. Despite being physically fit, James found it surprisingly hard to keep up with the General.

"Gentleman, I do not wish to concern myself with the antics of what went on with the two of you last night, but when you get up in the morning the first and only thing you should think of it the uniform, is that understood?"

"Sir yes sir" both men said in unison.

They stopped in front of a foyer, which lead through a pair of double doors into a large meeting room. James saw several cadets like themselves standing around, nervously waiting.

"Not you two" said the General. "You're with me."

James and Liam followed the General down at least three flights of stairs into a control room, which was manned by four technicians. Outside, two Marines against requested identification from all three men.

Inside, the General turned to face the two cadets.

"Men, my name is General Cavil, it's my job to make sure the security of this installation is maintained to the highest degree. Since both of you decided to be late to this Armistice Day commemoration it's only fitting that I detain you even further."

Cavil eyed both men for a reaction of disappointment or resentment, but he was proud that neither showed any emotion of the sort.

"You have one hour to calibrate the primary DRADIS array. Back room. Go."

"Sir yes sir" they said again, and moved to the small computer annex in the back.

After 15 minutes they realized the problems they were facing. Calibrating a single DRADIS station could be done in 25 minutes, maybe even 20. But the entire array for all of Picon Fleet Headquarters would take nearly three hours, and would require some stations to be taken offline to complete.

"I have to say" began Liam, half buried under a console, "I've never met a General Cavil before."

"Me neither" said James, monitoring the display above the console with a calibration tool. "Then again given the importance of today they've probably got people from all over the colonies here."

"Should've of had those extra drinks last night. Knew it would come back to bite us in the ass. Either that or those hookers we met."

It took Liam a few seconds to register James had responded. He pulled himself out from the console.

"You alright?"

James hadn't taken his eyes of the screen. Liam hauled himself up to see what the fuss was.

On DRADIS, the skies were full of hundreds of red blips. All of them registering as ENEMY TARGET.

"What the frak is this?" said Liam.

"I don't know… but we're the only ones that can see it. I've shut down the other DRADIS screens so we could calibrate this one."

"But… but that means we gotta-"

High-calibre weapons fire filled the air as James and Liam instinctively ducked down under the console. Screams filled the air as other consoles and monitoring equipment exploded around them. After about a minute the firing stopped.

James and Liam quickly scuttled out from under the console and moved to a sheltered wall, trying to see who the attacker was. The fact they were at present unarmed the foremost on their minds.

"You can come out now."

James and Liam heard the familiar voice, glanced at each other and ran out into the main room, seeing General Cavil standing over the fallen bodies of the technicians and the Marines, rifle in hand.

"Sir what happened?" asked Liam.

The General looked up, smiling at the two men.

"The beginnings of a new day. A day without human rule. Soon, humanity will be extinct and all of this will be reborn."

James took a step back, not knowing what he was hearing.

"Sir?" said Liam.

Cavil brought the rifle up and blast Liam in the chest, sending him into a bank of computers. James tried to turn and run but tripped over a fallen technician.

"Don't bother" said Cavil, "I mean not unless you can run several miles in a few seconds. I've seen you run, you're terrible."

James kept his eyes on the man, still not comprehending.

"You're confused. Let me explain. Me bad man. Bombs come soon. You all die. Understand now?"

"Why?" said James.

"Because I'm right, that's-"

Cavil was interrupted by the intercom. "Actions stations, set condition one throughout the base, incoming enemy targets-"

"My friends are here. Time to meet your maker."

James, still in shock, had time to comprehend that quite possibly he was about to die.

"Oh just smile" said Cavil, sitting back in an empty chair. "It'll all be over soon."

The intercom squawked again. "Incoming ordinance. Radialogical alarm! I repeat, radiological-"

Explosions began to shake the base as Cavil closed his eyes. For a brief millisecond James felt his atoms become one with the universe as Picon Fleet Headquarters disappeared in the blinding flash of a nuclear blast.

…

Cavil emerged from his resurrection tank, and wiped off the goo. Donning a robe he strode into a meeting room, a long table with twelve chairs dominating the room.

"Looks like I'm first" he said to himself, and took a seat. He knew it wouldn't be long before eleven identical selves would join him.

…

**Next Colony - Aquaria**


	2. AQUARIA

**Cavil's Run – The Fall of the Twelve Colonies**

02 - Aquaria

As the great ship passed the massive cliffs of ice and snow, Topside One accelerated to 22 knots, and into the open sea. The rough waters almost immediately had an effect on her crew, the worst – unfortunately – being Colonel West, who spent the next thirty minutes hunched over the railing immediately outside the bridge.

Admiral Johansson didn't seem to mind. He knew West was the son of a famous explorer and his family had preferential treatment on Aquaria, despite not having any sea legs. Johansson stood up and gazed out the large windows, scanning the horizon. Weather reports were accurate for once; a southerly squall was indeed land bound.

"Conn SARDIS, what's the state of our minnow?" he said, attempting to stand and hold his hot cup of coffee at the same time.

"SARDIS conn, Poseidon is at 600 fathoms, holding steady, speed approx 17 knots."

"Good" said Johansson, burning his lip slightly. Outside, a large blue iceberg floated past less than a kilometer away. He wondered why, with such natural beauty was his colony the least populated. Then he remembered – it was just so frakking cold.

"Topside One, Poseidon, do you read?"

Johansson walked over to the communications station and took the receiver personally. "What time do you call this?" he yelled, "that fjord shouldn't have given you any grief."

…

Below the surface, the Substar Poseidon glided along silently in the darkness of the oceans. The powerful craft, over 300 metres long, was carefully navigating the peaks of an abyssal plain, but the drop off to the deep ocean was only a few miles away.

In CIC, Commander Greer was gathering his notes while Colonel White was at present looking rather offended speaking with the surface.

"Admiral, I assure you Poseidon handled the fjord without any difficulties. Besides we were hardly gonna to risk denting the Navy's new billion cubit sub now were we?"

Greer smiled. He knew White and Johansson were old Navy buddies, and always riled each other up like this.

"Set course for the Descent Islands, lets see if we can break some speed records. We'll race you. Last one there buys the rest of the crew the largest Aerilon steak on the menu."

"You're on" sad White, "Poseidon out."

Greer filed his paperwork away while White replaced his receiver. "Crazy old bastard" said White, moving over to the helm.

"Lieutenant, set course for the Descent Islands, deploy the new meridian drive. Open her up."

"Aye sir."

A door opened at the rear of CIC and an older gentleman stepped through. Greer and White both turned and saluted. The old man casually saluted back.

"Senator Cavil, you're just in time" began Greer. "We're about to deploy our revolutionary new propulsion system. Should give those on the surface a run for their money."

"Literally" said White to himself.

"I look forward to it" said Cavil, "please, don't let me stop you."

Cavil stood at the back of CIC as the hum of power filled the room. The gradual acceleration could be felt, slowly but surely. Commander Greer monitored the SARDIS screens over his head, checking for any signs of trouble. None came.

"Impressive vessel" said Cavil, noting the readings on a panel nearby. "Got any buyers?"

"Picon military naturally. Caprica and Canceron are also interested" said Greer.

"Would Gemenon care to invest in the project?" said Colonel White, asking Cavil at point blank range.

Cavil smiled. "We'll see. Gemenon has too few large oceans for such a vessel to be effective. Or worth while."

Cavil noticed White's reaction. "Don't worry" said Cavil, "we're all very impressed at Aquaria's contribution to the Colonial military. My constituents are always keen to support your colony in it's endeavours."

"Sir… sir I'm picking up a garbled message from Topside One."

Greer went back to the communication desk, the concern only fleeting at this stage.

"Sitrep."

"Still unknown. Vipers have been launched. Could be a drill but… I doubt it."

Greer leaned in. "Why lieutenant?"

"Sir… it sounds like Admiral Johansson is… scared."

"Lieutenant, I'll pretend that word didn't come out of your mouth. And I'll advise you Admiral Johansson isn't scared of _anything_. He had a hard time adjusting to life after the Cylon war but that's the worst-"

"Conn DRADIS, multiple enemy targets inbound. Topside has scrambled two squadrons, enemy- oh frak"

"Talk to me" yelled Greer, watching both the SARDIS and DRADIS screens.

"Action stations, set condition one throughout the sub" countered White, addressing their ship while the Commander took care of the rest.

"Conn DRADIS… our Vipers are gone."

Greer followed his eyes back to the screen showing the surface situation. Topside One was now indeed alone, a solitary green blip surrounded by dozens of red intruders.

"Lieutenant, get me the-"

The green blip shimmered and vanished from DRADIS. A few gasps filled the room.

"Shut the frak up" yelled White. "We're Colonials, we're trained for frakked up crap like this. Man your stations." He leaned over towards Greer. "Think we should open the silos."

"I concur."

"Sir" the lieutenant at communications spoke up, "I'm picking up distress calls from Heim, Darkland, other major centers. Reports arriving of ships landing and… Gods… Centurions emerging."

Everyone in the room was stunned. Greer's mind was racing. Was this the first stage of an attack on the colonies? Was this part of a much larger invasion? His thoughts were cut short as the room shook with what felt like an explosion and was suddenly plunged into total darkness, brought back into the light a second later - emergency supply only.

"Senator, you picked a hell of a day for a visit, might I recommend you-"

Greer suddenly realized the senator was no longer in the room with them.

"Frak it, I should've stayed in bed this morning" said Greer. "Colonel White, take as many men as you need and find the senator. Then send Corporal Haynes to guard the sub control room."

"Aye sir" said White, already half out the door. Greer knew the sub control room was their last link between a powered ship and falling below crush depth.

…

White rounded a corner, four soldiers behind him when he encountered Corporal Haynes coming the other way, a nasty bloodied gash on his forehead. White helped the man to lean against a wall. Haynes pointed wearily down the corridor.

"Sub control room… some guy in there smashing stuff…"

White charged past Haynes, almost knocking the poor man off his feet.

"Everyone with me, weapons free but for frak's sake be careful what you hit in here!"

White barged into the room, swinging his pistol around as his men followed close behind, weapons ready.

Senator Cavil stood in the middle of the room, holding a detonator. The rest of the room had been ransacked. Consoles smashed.

"Senator… begging your pardon sir, but what the frak are you doing?"

Cavil just smiled, keeping his eyes on all the rifles pointed at his head and chest.

"Me? Oh I'm just doing what I'm told. Conducting murder and mayhem, that sort of thing."

White didn't really understand what he was hearing. Senator Cavil arrived virtually unannounced from Gemenon, though as educated on parliamentary systems White felt he was, he couldn't recall ever hearing of a Senator Cavil.

"The Poseidon is a wonderful ship" continued Cavil, "but it's very hard to get at down here. Can't allow anyone to survive. No hard feelings, you understand."

"Senator, I'm gonna frak you up-"

"No… you're not" said Cavil, and pressed the trigger.

The explosion killed White and two of the soldiers, throwing a third though the full-length window at the far end of the room. Cavil ended up in a bank of wall-high computer banks, both his legs broken. Despite in pain, he knew he'd done enough.

In CIC Greer was watching the Poseidon's fate unfolding before him on one of the few remaining functional screens. The sounds of the hull creaking was already audible as the now-powerless vessel began to fall towards it's crush depth. Greer knew it wouldn't be long.

"Anything from the Colonel?" he asked.

No one in the room could answer.

The lieutenant at communications appeared beside the Commander, hand outstretched. "It's been an honor serving with you sir."

Commander Greer stood up to his full height, and shook the man's hand. Somewhere on the ship another explosion rocked the room.

In the sub control room, Cavil felt the pressure changing as the ship continued to compact in on its self. A loud crack and the sound of sudden rushing water made him smile.

Well below the crush depth, the Substar Poseidon twisted and imploded.

…

Striding into the meeting room, Aquaria-Cavil saw Picon-Cavil sitting at one of the chairs, sipping a cup of tea.  
"That's not like you brother" said Aquaria-Cavil.

"Thought I'd try something human, before everything is burned. I hope you're not offended."

Aquaria-Cavil laughed, and grabbed his own drink from the dispenser.

"Any others?"

"Not yet" said Picon-Cavil. "Did you have fun?"

"Not really. Aquarians seem to be so needy, wanting to prove themselves to the other colonials. Stubborn independence my ass."

"I wasted mine" said Picon-Cavil. "Should've played with them more. Such pathetic wastes for lifeforms. Managed to kill a few personally before the end."

The sound of a door opening down the corridor caught their attention.

"Excellent" said Aquaria-Cavil, taking a seat. "I wonder who it'll be this time?"

…

**Next Colony – Tauron**


	3. TAURON

**Cavil's Run – The Fall of the Twelve Colonies**

03 – Tauron

The car pulled into the small alleyway as Douglas killed his lights. The sun was slowly setting over Hypatia, bathing the streets in an orange and golden twilight.

"This is a bad idea" said Jeff, pulling out his pistol and loading a magazine.

"If we don't stop them now the shipment will leave Tauron tonight and we'll be back where we were three months ago."

Douglas pulled the car over, and nodded ahead of them.

"There's the entrance" he said.

Up ahead Jeff saw a small neon light flashing the word 'Sammy's' on and off every second. Jeff craned his neck to see the upper levels of the building. The five storey building, like others in this area, was never finished. The upper two levels were simple bare struts with large opaque tarps covering vital areas, though the roof of the fifth floor was finished. In most cases, the tarps were loose and flapping about like broken spinnakers. Sammy's bar had moved in prior to the building's completion, and now were the only client in what would have been a busy commercial block. To avoid repeated damage by rioting – which was common in the area – the Sammy's bar owner opted to have the main entrance off the small alleyway they were now parked in.

"Seems a little strange for Adelphos to hold a meeting here. Very public, even for him."

"The Guatrau is never questioned. He has his reasons. For nearly fifty years his family has run the Ha'la'tha, and it's been the most violent in their history. Now we have a chance to take the whole lot down. He's meeting with a whole heap of gang leaders from all over Tauron and various other colonies."

"Here?"

"No you moron, this is a preliminary meeting. The proper meeting won't be as public. But he'll be here. If we can get just one sound bite of anybody mentioning that cargo container leaving Tauron we've got him. Right, lets do it."

Jeff and Douglas opened their car doors and stepped out. Instantly a volley of weapons fire targeted their vehicle, punching holes in the bonnet. Both men took cover behind their open doors and began scanning the windows and rooftops for the sniper.

It didn't take long to track him down. The flash of the rifle could be seen poking out of a section of opaque tarp on the upper floor of Sammy's.

"Frak! Did someone tip them off?" yelled Jeff.

"Maybe we should've brought a rental" said Douglas, firing off three shots in quick succession.

The sniper realigned himself and fire twice, the first bullet smashing the window on Douglas' driver's door, the second catching Douglas in the shoulder.

As he went down he fell back into the car. Jeff pulled his head in.

"You alright?"

"Course I'm not frakking alright!" yelled Douglas, swapping a magazine with his good hand. "Just get the frak up there."

Douglas turned and fired several shots with his good arm, forcing the sniper back into the shadows. Jeff took the moment and darted for the side of the building. He edged his way along, looking for another door in when he saw a fire escape, and began to climb it.

He was part way up when he heard multiple gunshots ring out from above him. "Frak… Douglas!"

Jeff climbed up faster, stopping briefly at the top of the ladder to pull out his gun. He psyched himself up, said a prayer to the Gods then took a leap of faith, throwing all his body weight over the wall of the building onto the fifth floor, tucking himself into a barrel role and coming out of it firing his weapon.

Jeff stopped firing, and took a double take. He kept his gun trained on the sniper but knew he was no longer a threat; the sniper was already dead.

He walked cautiously over, but this guy was definitely dead. Stepping close to the body, looking over his shoulder to check the rest of the empty roof area, he checked the man's wounds. Four bullet holes were in his back, blood now pooling around the man who was lying face down. A tattoo of a Flightless Falcon from Tampola indicated the man's Ha'La'Tha allegiances.

Jeff was about to stand up when he stopped. He noticed fresh bullet holes in the metal girder beside the fallen man, at least half a dozen of them.

Jeff was sure he'd only fired five.

He heard shouting coming from the level below him. Swapping his magazine, he began to make his way towards an unfurnished stairwell at the northern end of the building.

Down on the street below, Douglas was sitting in his car, strapping himself up when his cellphone went.

"What?"

"Gods… you guys gotta get back here… they're everywhere!"

"What? Who-"

"OH FRAK NO-"

The line went dead. Douglas wondered what the chief meant. The Ha'La'Tha? Had they staged an attack on their police headquarters?

A mass of noise caught his attention from above. He stepped out of the car steadily, craning his neck towards the sky.

"What the frak…"

Above him, on the fifth floor of the building, Jeff was slowly descending into the next level. He was about to try and poke his head out to see if he could spot the shooter when a hail of bullets flew past his head. Ducking out of the way he ran back up the stairwell onto the upper level. After a few seconds the gunfire ended.

Jeff could hear the sheer number of flyers overhead, but decided he needed to finish his mission first. Descending down the stairs again, he managed to peer into the dimly lit area.

Jeff walked slowly down to the fourth floor, pistol extended as far as his arm could reach. Swinging it from left to right, he was stunned by what he saw inside.

Bodies of at least two dozen men were strewn across the fourth floor. Most of the men were wearing the black and orange jackets worn by close-knit members of the Guatrau's personal team. Some were in business suits, others in casual attire. He spotted Senator Barnes from Caprica.

_So the rumors are true_ he thought to himself.

Rounding a pillar wrapped in think insulation mesh, he froze. Standing in the middle of the room was a man in his late fifties, early sixties, holding two machine guns, both of them with smoking barrels. He was standing over the body of a dark skinned gentleman wearing a brown leather coat with a Flightless Falcon insignia.

The Guatrau.

As Jeff edged closer he could make out the Guatrau was still alive, but injured.

"Please" he said, "please don't kill me…"

"No I think I will kill you" said the man standing over him. "I don't like you. Your kind preys on the weak. It's a power game. I wanted to come here today and look you in the eyes before the end, to make sure you understand what it is you do to people – you remove hope. After today humanity will have no hope. Even how the pieces are moving to strike. Can you not hear the birds outside moving in the for kill?"

"Please-"

"Shut up" the man said, and fired at least a dozen bullets into the man's head.

"FREEZE!"

The old man turned with surprise, not expecting anyone to be behind him. At least not alive.

"Put them down, put them down, now!"

The man realized Jeff's intentions, and threw both guns to the ground.

"Easy friend, we're on the same side."

"I want some ID first." Jeff closed to be within 3 metres of the man.

"Name's Cavil. And I have no ID. Does nobody take anything on trust these days?"

Jeff relaxed a little. "Are you from another department?"

Cavil smiled. "You could say that. I'm their… number one."

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Jeff, but it would've been nice if our department shared notes before you did this. We've been trailing this lot for three months-"

A massive amount of weapons fire tore through the streets below, surprising Jeff so much he almost shot Cavil. The weapons fire was loud and heavy, very high caliber. Jeff couldn't even determine where it was coming from."

"Come here, I'll show you what my department are up to."

Cavil lead a concerned Jeff to the edge of the building. Jeff looked out from behind the opaque tarp, and stopped cold.

On the streets below, Cylon Centurions were blasting Tauron citizens as they ran, firing into shop windows and shooting cars as they attempted to drive away. Jeff could just see Douglas on their car, lying on his back covered in blood, several bullet holes in his chest. In the distance, three large explosions suddenly rocked the financial district.

"What… what the frak is this..?"

"Cylon invasion" offered Cavil. "Humanity's day is over. Have a nice trip."

Cavil heaved Jeff over the ledge, pushing him from the building. Jeff's body landed on a parked vehicle, smashing the roof downwards and triggering the car alarm.

Explosions began to appear in closer buildings. Cavil sat on the ledge, and waited for a couple of minutes, enjoying the serenity of the mayhem exploding around him, before a missile hit the second floor of Sammy's building, destroying it completely.

…

"I wonder who it'll be this time?"

Tauron-Cavil entered and sat down. "Got the bastard" he said.

Picon-Cavil smiled, while Aquaria-Cavil raised his glass in a toast.

"Took me a couple of weeks to track him down and gain his confidence. Thought I was gonna run out of time."

"We would've killed him anyway."

"Doesn't matter, I wanted to take him out personally. Such a cruel man, the source of so much pain."

"You can't see the irony of your words, brother?" said Aquaria-Cavil.

"We're ending the pain of the humans. Forever."

"Sounds like it's going well" said Picon-Cavil, reading a printout from a computer console. "Seven colonies under sustained nuclear attack, Leonis and Libran have had successful conquests with landing parties. Colonial forces massing at Virgon for a counter offensive apparently."

Tauron-Cavil leaned back in his cheer and grinned. "Good day to be alive."

…

**Next Colony – Sagittaron**


	4. SAGITTARON

**Cavil's Run – The Fall of the Twelve Colonies**

04 – Sagittaron

The sun was just beginning to rise over the peaks behind them. Jeremy scanned the nearby mountains to determine their altitude; two kilometres, maybe two and a half. The peak was part of a twin chain that ran for about 300 kilometres across the continent, forming a nearly unbroken and very impressive canyon borne from an ancient tectonic collision.

"You gonna sight see or you gonna climb?"

Jeremy turned his attention back to the mountain in front of him, covering his hands in the chalk pouch on his belt, before grabbing for the nearest crack in the rock face. Above him, Cindy was a few metres ahead, tethered to him via a safety cable, and above them Mr Cavil, their instructor.

Their honeymoon was now into it's second week, and they'd done most of the major peaks in this area. The goal was to have one more day of training then attempt the Devastator, the largest peak in the region.

"You two sure are heavy" said Cavil, hauling up the safety cable.

Jeremy was a sailor in the Caprican navy. Having failed his exams to enter the space bound military he settled for life on the oceans of Caprica. Although initially upset by missing out on serving on a Battlestar, he eventually found the oceans more enjoyable.

It had only taken them two hours to get to their present altitude. Cavil had driven them faster than they would've liked, but he had promised them something 'magical' at sunrise.

Jeremy was about to attempt to follow the other two up the next cliff face when he felt something slam against his shoulder. At first he thought someone above him had dislodged a rock, but then he caught a glimpse of an unmistakable shine of a metallic surface as it dropped away below him.

"Mr Cavil" he called out. "I think you lost a piton."

"Yeah I know" Cavil replied, "I was aiming for your head."

Jeremy smiled. He had been warned that Cavil's humour was a little off. That said, he was unprepared for what happened next.

First it was the scream that Cindy echoed throughout the canyon.

Then it was the gun that Cavil pulled from his jacket and aimed at Cindy.

Finally it was the eerie laugh that bellowed from Cavil as he tossed his backpack away and down the mountainside.

"What's going on Cavil?"

"What's going on? I thought I'd have some fun before the end. You guys ever wanted to fly?"

Cindy glanced down at Jeremy, tears of fear streaming from her petrified eyes. Jeremy raised a hand to her.

"It's gonna be alright honey-"

"No it frakking isn't" said Cavil, and fired a couple of rounds at the mountainside near Jeremy's hand.

"You sick frak, what are you doing this for!?"

"I told you, I wanna have some fun. Humanity's day is drawing to a close so I thought I'd take you with me to the end of the world."

"Look, we're not from Sagittaron, we don't know how things work here but if you've got a grievance with someone-"

"Oh for frak's sake, you Capricans are all the same. Always trying to mediate the crap out of the other colonies. Well le me tell you how it's gonna work. Little girl, can you catch?"

Cindy realized she was being spoken to, but was too frightened to reply.

"Oh well… catch."

Cavil tossed the gun to her, who despite her best efforts dropped it.

"Not to worry" said Cavil, unzipping his jacket, "I've got spares."

Jeremy saw at least five other pistols in there as Cavil removed another.

"Right then… if you drop this one I get to shoot your man."

Cindy nodded, crying again. Cavil tossed the pistol, and this time she managed to catch it.

"Good girl… now, we're gonna play a little game, a game I call survival of the fittest. All you gotta do to survive is to make sure you're the last one standing ok?"

Cindy half nodded her head in understanding, half in total fear. Jeremy attempted to get himself closer to Cindy by slowly making his way up the rock face.

"Real simple Cindy" said Cavil, "just don't try and shoot me. I mean well you can try but you gotta make sure you get me with your first shot, cos I'll sure as frak nail you with mine."

"When I get up there you motherfrakker I'll-"

"You'll what, sailor boy? Why are you on boats anyway? Too frakking useless to fly a Battlestar?"

Jeremy shook his head, all rage bubbling below the surface, aware of the fact that he was several hundred metres above the nearest flat surface, not to mention he didn't wish to aggravate the psycho with the guns.

"OK Cindy, lets find out how much you value you're life. You want to live through this don't you?"

"Yes…" she wimpered.

"I can't hear you…"

"YES!" she screamed, crying again.

"Good, now I promise you I'll let you go provided you make the right choice. It's the fairly simple one."

She looked up at him with a vain hope in her eyes.

"Shoot Jeremy."

"Wha- I can't do that, he's my baby! You can't make me-"

"It's him or you Cindy. You shoot him and I'll let you go."

Jeremy looked up at her, one hand on the safety rope. "It's alright baby… just… take your best shot."

"Don't entertain this you moron! I'm not shooting you!"

"You live, he said so. My life for yours."

"Don't throw your life away so quickly-"

"Getting bored up here Cindy. Shoot him. If it helps I'll count to five."

"NO! No you can't-"

"One."

"It's OK Cindy."

"No I'm not doing it-"

"Two."

"No!"

"Three."

"Frak you!"

Cindy took a shot at Cavil, which missed by two feet. He pulled out another pistol.

"Four."

"Cindy, shoot me!" yelled Jeremy.

"I can't baby… I just can't…"

Two shots rang out, and Jeremy was suddenly hit by a small jet of blood. He wiped it off his face, then looked up.

Cindy had fallen away from the rock, her arms and legs flailing downwards with gravity as she lay on her back in her harness, as if she had been skewered on a large spike. He sat watching her for a long time, incredulous to what he was seeing. The woman he had spent the last four years with, he had planned to spend the rest of his life with, was now gone.

"You humans sure do die quickly."

Jeremy snapped out of his state, remembering why the love of his life was now dead. He looked up at the demon 20 feet above him.

"…Human…?"

"Yeah, you pathetic excuse for lifeforms. Makes me sick. Still, times up."

Cavil stared out to the horizon, trying to locate something.

Jeremy shook his head. "I can't even begin to comprehend you… when I get my hands on you I'll-"

"A-ha! There!" yelled Cavil, pointing out beyond the canyon. Jeremy followed his gaze.

A bright orange-yellow light was visible, several hundred miles away. It was changing, slowly growing in size, the clouds above it seemed to part to make way for it. A few degrees to the right, two further orange flashes illuminated the early morning sky.

"What the frak are those…?"

"Oh come now Jeremy… you make me so disappointed. Makes me think I killed the wrong one. Oh well… bored now."

Jeremy saw the gun drop past him, too far from him to grab it on the way past. When he glanced back up at Cavil he saw something he didn't expect.

Cavil had positioned himself facing the wall, with both his feet either side of the piton embedded in the wall. He gripped the rope with both his hands and began to pull.

"What the frak are you doing?" yelled Jeremy, and gripped at his waist, trying to undo the safety cable from him.

A massive wind reacted the canyon, forcing Jeremy to hold on.

"It's all frakking useless now, Jeremy, you're covered in nuclear radiation" said Cavil, giving the rope another tug. "Even if you made it down in one piece I doubt you'd find a hospital to help."

Jeremy glanced back at the horizon. More nuclear blasts were visible, but the skies had grown dark. In the east, he had seen a fleet of ships he wasn't familiar with begin to descend, heading for what he thought were the two smaller towns they had passed through a few days ago. Cavil was right; humanity was under attack, and being hit hard. He glanced up at his wife, and slowly took his hands off his carabiner.

Cavil gave the piton one last heave, and it suddenly gave way. Cavil projected away from the rock, Cindy's lifeless body following quickly, two further pitons dislodging under the sudden increase in weight. Jeremy braced himself as the piton nearest him dislodged from the rock, and he felt himself falling.

The trio reached near terminal velocity during the rapid descent. A nuclear impact six hundred metres away detonated in a blinding flash, not that any of them were focused on that. Their bodies incinerated six seconds before they impacted with the canyon floor.

…

The three Cavils in the room turned as the door opened and Sagittaron-Cavil walked in, smiling happily. For a while he said nothing, just looking at his brethren, with a look of expectation on his face.

When one of the Cavils seated at the table shrugged, Sagittaron-Cavil punched his arms in the air.

"I FRAKKING FLEW!"

…

**Next Colony – Libran**


	5. LIBRAN

**Cavil's Run – The Fall of the Twelve Colonies**

05 – Libran

"Gentlemen, this case has stretched on now for six long weeks, I think it's time we went out there and finish it. Don't you?"

Robert Huddleston nodded. He adjusted his tie and stood up, cleaning out the small wrinkles in his finely made suit. Silk made from a remote area on Scorpio. Very expensive, thought the Judge.

"What about you Mr Cavil?"

Cavil stood at the window, looking out over the courtyard of the Supreme Hall of Justice. He could see the Freedom Statue, a female holding it's arms out, equal and fair. Beyond, he could see several other court houses and universities, common aspects that dominate the city of Themis.

"Mr Cavil?"

Cavil turned back to face the others. "Sorry your honour, was just a little pre-occupied. A lot on my mind."

"The loss of this case most likely" said Huddleston, sipping the remains of his coffee.

"It's time. Closing arguments then we'll release the jury."

…

Minutes later, Judge Miranda Powley entered the room, everyone rising to their feet. She reached her chair and began to sit. "Please, be seated."

Everyone followed suit, as Powley pulled up her display to quickly access the facts of the case.

Benedict Cyrus was accused of being a Ha'la'tha informant, but more seriously responsible for the deaths of four marines attempting to storm a compound allegedly packed with contraband bound for Gemenon. The case had proceeded well without any major incidents. Despite the events occurring on Tauron – including the arrest of Cyrus – the Colonial Military pushed for a federal Colonial trial on Libran. Wildly blown out of proportion by the media, the promised uprising or assassination attempts against Cyrus never eventuated.

In fact the only problem the case hit was Judge Powley being forced to find Mr Cavil in contempt of court for an inappropriate outburst.

"Ladies and gentlemen of jury" began Powley, "you have spent the last few weeks listening to the facts. Today the prosecution and the defence will sum up their arguments and then you will be freed to deliberate the outcome of this case. Mr Huddleston, you may begin."

Huddleston stood up, fastening his jacket together with a single button, and strode into the centre of the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as the Right Honourable Judge Powley has just explained we are here to find justice for the inhuman crime that has been committed. Not only are we forced to exist beneath the strains of constant threat to our way of life, but also to let people such as Mr Cyrus the chance to go free, to commit further crimes, and to kill. The evidence speaks for itself…"

Cavil turned away from Huddleston as he paced the room, keen to make sure all eyes were focused on him. His attentions were drawn to a clock on the wall above the judge. It was 1.58pm local time.

Two minutes to go.

Cavil allowed himself to be drawn back to reality, looking at Huddleston leaning against the railing, eyeing up an attractive blonde juror in the front row.

"…and so it would be in the best interests of this colony – indeed for all colonies – that this man be put away for life. A guilty verdict now would not only put a dangerous criminal behind bars but send a clear message to the Ha'la'tha that we will not stand for this kind of injustice anymore. Thank you."

Huddleston returned to his chair and sat with a smile on his face.

"You're up, Mr Cavil."

Cavil nodded with a smile to the judge, and stood to face the jury.

It took the judge a few seconds for Judge Powley to realise Cavil hadn't started speaking. She rolled her eyes, expecting to see another strange appearance by Mr Cavil, who only took on the case at the last minute, when no one else would take it.

"Mr Cavil" she began, "I don't know how you do things on Caprica but closing statements are usually spoken audibly."

A few laughs came from the back of the room, which were silenced quickly. Huddleston smiled another victorious grin at Cavil, who ignored him.

"Forgive me your honour, merely trying to get the words right. Don't want to frak things up, do I?"

The judge was about to speak when Cavil held up his hand in apology, and turned to the jury.

"A long time ago I was a successful man, with a strong group of friends around me, four or five senior peers, family members if you will, to keep an eye on us. We had a strong bond. Thirteen of us, ready to take on the worlds, shape our futures and destinies as we saw fit. And then Daniel decided he wanted more.

"He wanted to shape it beyond what we knew, and this caught the eye of our dear mother. She loved him dearly. Drew him closer to her, rejecting the rest of us, becoming her favourite. So I did the only thing a man in my position could do. I waited till the moment was right… then I shoved a sword in his chest."

The jury were suddenly awake, not aware of where this statement was going. Huddleston's statement was direct and to the point. Cavil's on the other hand was an admission of murder.

"Mr Cavil…" began the judge.

"After Daniel had been taken care of I had to make sure he wouldn't come back. So I poisoned his bloodline, making sure he could never come back. I was scolded by our mother for this action. 'John' she used to say, 'John that was wrong', but I knew the difference between right and wrong, between what was expected and what was necessary. I had to make sure the future was right. And so I murdered my mother and the rest of the family."

"Mr Cavil, this has gone far enough-"

"But that wasn't enough" continued Cavil, ignoring the angered expression on Powley's face, and the stunned faces of the dozen jurors in front of him. "I realised I couldn't be truly safe without making sure our true parents were out of the way. Children can't flourish until they leave the nest, until the previous generation allows us to pass. That's why at 2pm today the worlds are gonna end. Forever."

Instinctively everyone in the room went to their watches, or looked up at the clock. A silence filled the room, one that was broken by the sound of a siren starting up outside. Soon more sirens began, then the explosions started.

"Were I to say is this man innocent or guilty?" said Cavil. "Well, by definition he, like all of you, are all human. And by definition, you're all guilty."

A massive explosion tore the rear wall off the courthouse, scattering people in the seats and in the gallery. Cavil crouched down to avoid the debris.

When he stood back up he saw five of the jurors were dead, and Mr Huddleston was impaled with a broken piece of wood, hunched over his desk.

"I don't want to speak for the judge here but I think I's safe to say… case dismissed."

Survivors of the first explosion were running all around, trying to find a way out of the mayhem. Outside, fires and explosions were all over the city. The Freedom Statue was now headless and only had a single arm. Heavy Cylon Raiders were landing and depositing a dozen Cylon Centurions at the time, who ran off to begin targeting humans. For a city, indeed a colony, of only two million people, they felt using nuclear warheads was a waste, and so this would purely be a chance for the Centurions to have some fun.

People spilling from the shattered court houses were being gunned down. Cavil looked around the room. His court room was virtually empty. Judge Powley lay dying near the window, covered in blood. A stray shot shattered the glass and struck her in the jugular. Cavil turned to head for the door, planning on joining the Centurions outside.

Something moved to his left. He turned but was instantly knocked to the ground. Cavil regained his senses to see Cyrus straddling him, both hands on Cavil's neck. Despite being physically enhanced, Cavil found his human by be exceptionally strong.

"You know one thing I hate more than Taurons…" spat Cyrus. "…Cylons."

"Well this is ironic" said Cavil. "I guess you are guilty after all".

As Cyrus snapped his neck, Cavil could hear Centurions entering the room.

Judge, jury and executioner.

…

Libran-Cavil entered the room, seeing four of his fellow brothers at the table.

"Had fun?" asked Tauron-Cavil.

"Indeed" said Libran-Cavil. "Human justice is so weak. I'm glad we have a better system in place."

"Shouldn't be long now" said Aquaria-Cavil. "Much of the fighting is about to occur above Virgon."

"Excellent. Let the games begin."

…

**Next Colony – Virgon**


	6. VIRGON

**Cavil's Run – The Fall of the Twelve Colonies**

06 – Virgon

"…and following the Quorum meeting next week, the President will visit Virgon to officially lay a reef on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, then will visit Hybernia on the first official visit by a sitting President for over 15 years. Vice-President Chellis has arrived in Colonial Two ahead of the ceremony due to start shortly."

The news anchor adjusted his tie and turned to a different camera. A split screen appeared, showing him on one and a pretty brunette on the other, a starry backdrop of real space behind her.

"Amazing achievement, wouldn't you say Rebecca? A sitting President visiting Hybernia."

"That's right, Tom, an amazing moment. VNN of course will be covering the events as they happen. Right now though we're here for what the Virgon military has been gearing up for for months. As we all know, today marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice, the event that saw the end of the Cylon war. Now decades later the Colonial Military have prepared a special commemoration, including the appearance by several vessels that participated in the war, and numerous veterans who served to protect our way of life."

Rebecca glanced out the window behind her. The massive shape of a Battlestar flashed into existence, and began extending its flight pods. She smiled to herself for timing the arrival just right.

"And right on cue the Battlestar Majestic arrives. Yes, the royal battleship herself. During the war she spent much of her time idle in orbit, defending the planet from the odd Raider attack, but her claim to fame came from that infamous and daring assault on the Cylon occupation of Hybernia, and the amazing yet tragic rescue of the royal family. Even after forty years the speech made by King Henry still leaves a lasting impact on those that were fortunate enough to see it live-"

Outside the orbiting station a myriad of Battlestars, Gunstars, freighters, transports, passenger liners and support craft all hung in orbit as dozens of Vipers from various military vessels performed manoeuvres, formations and flybys in front of visiting dignitaries and television cameras. Images were being beamed all across the colonial star systems for anyone that would care to watch; despite being a major anniversary of the war, projecting viewing figures indicated the current generation simply weren't interested.

The Majestic turned to join in formation of the older Battlestars, of which only three of the nine present actually served in the war. Several non-descript transports of the era also joined the formation, joined by a passenger liner said to contain over three hundred surviving veterans. The old warships were flanked by the larger and newer Battlestars, who joined in the formation ready for the ceremonial orbit of the planet.

"It truly is a stunning sight" said Rebecca, looking out of the glass blister on the side of the space station. "The fleet makes you proud to be human, and sends a message to all Cylons everywhere that if you come back… we're ready for you."

A small laugh came from the back of the blister. Rebecca waited for the music leading out into the commercial break to end before she stormed off camera to the culprit.

An older gentleman was standing near the back holding a portable sound recording desk. He looked up as Rebecca approached, smiling politely.

"Was it something I said?" the man said.

"Frakking… Cavil, you're the sound technician. I know Charlie pulled out at the last minute but you came highly recommended. Please don't frak things up for us. This is a big day."

"Bigger than you think" said Cavil.

Rebecca shrugged and went back to the window, checking over her notes ready for the next live cross. She glanced out into space and saw the Battlestars beginning to head for the dark side of Virgon. It was then that she felt a presence over her shoulder.

"Oh back off, I'm not interested."

"Don't flatter yourself Rebecca" said Cavil, looking past her out the window. "Not everything revolves around you. And that this network is the best because it has the best shots, the best coverage, the best… music and graphics that play out into the ads-"

"Get back to your seat, they're coming back in thirty seconds."

"No."

Rebecca was taken aback. "No? Excuse me? Did you just say no?"

Cavil ignored the comment, and went the extra step of pushing Rebecca out of the way. Instantly Jonah, the cameraman locked his camera off and moved to her aid. When she waved him off he turned to Cavil.

"I think you owe the lady an apology" said Jonah.

Without taking his eyes off the window, Cavil turned and fired two shots at Jonah. A pair of bullets burrowed deep into his chest and he fell back on the deck. Too scared to run, Rebecca pushed herself back into the wall as far as she could.

"Rebecca, you should come up here… you're gonna wanna see this."

Nervous, Rebecca joined him at the window and looked out.

At first she couldn't see what Cavil was on about. Then she spotted it; blue flashes in high orbit began to appear. FTL jumps. Lots of them.

"Who are they? I thought everyone in attendance was already here?"

"I thought you said you were ready for us…?"

Rebecca glanced at Cavil, a cold, dark thought gradually taking over her mind.

"Rebecca, everything OK up there? What's Charlie doing next to you?"

Before she could speak Cavil grabbed the mic off Rebecca and turned to the camera.

"Sorry Tom, my name is Cavil, Charlie couldn't be with us tonight. Something about being dead tired."

Tom sat nervously in his chair, not sure where this might be going.

"OK, well Cavil, is everything-"

"Everything is fine Tom" Cavil said, smiling like they were old friends. "I was merely pointing out to Rebecca that it looks like the Colonial Military have planned some sort of demonstration for the viewers at home. Some unexpected targets have appeared in orbit and if you look out the window behind me you can see a pair of Battlestars are already moving to intercept."

Cavil handed the mic back to Rebecca, who smiled to play along. "Interesting Tom, I have nothing on my schedule about this. But it does look like that-"

A bright flash from out the window caught her attention. She turned to see one of the two Battlestars pulling to the right after being struck by what appeared to be a high-yield nuclear warhead. As she watched, three more flashes filled the skies, and she forced herself to turn away.

"Tom… I don't know what's going on but there's something-"

Tom had his hand to his ear and suddenly stared straight at the camera, alarmed. "Sorry, Rebecca, have to cut you off there… we're getting disturbing reports from Picon and Caprica… and now Tauron… massive explosions have been registered from those colonies. We're talking nuclear here. We'll try and get a live link up with our affiliate in those colonies soon but-"

Rebecca butted back in, reading off her portable tablet computer. "Tom we're getting a report up here that Admiral Nagala on the Battlestar Atlantia has taken command of the fleet. Reports coming in that vessels of an unknown configuration have been seen in orbit and in the atmosphere of Virgon- OH MY GODS!"

Large detonations were becoming visible on the surface of Virgon. Clear skies above a region on the eastern seaboard of the equatorial continent were brightened by a further nuclear blast. Rebecca suddenly realised what this meant.

"Tom… get out of there…"

"Wha-"

Rebecca watched as the newsroom shook violently and suddenly vanished from view, being replaced by nothing but static on the monitor.

"Tom…" said Rebecca, hoping it was just a temporary glitch.

"He's dead. Like everyone else" said Cavil. "Now come back and look out the window. There's a lot to see."

Worried at what this Cavil person actually was, Rebecca forced herself to crawl back to the window. What she saw reminded her of rough video footage taken forty years ago.

The colonial parade around the planet had ended abruptly, all vessels jumping out of formation and back into the main arena. Rebecca could make out the mighty form of the Atlantia firing repeatedly at the nearest enemy ship, which was starting to buckle under the weight of the onslaught.

Below, Rebecca could just see the Majestic targeting another ship, which exploded.

"Yes! Way to go Majestic!"

Cavil snorted. "Lucky shot. This battle will be over very soon."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because we're about to play a card that will reshuffle the deck slightly. Keep watching."

Outside, Rebecca saw a squadron of Viper bank high and fast towards the main group of enemy fighters when suddenly they seemed to lose all engine control and drift at high speed towards their targets. Rebecca put her hand on the glass and whimpered as the entire squadron were destroyed at point blank range.

"What the hell happened to the Vipers?"

Cavil smiled. "Oh? What makes you think it's just a Viper issue?"

Rebecca looked back out the window to see a Mercury class Battlestar suddenly bank left in an uncontrolled spin, and collide with the frigate trying to get out of the way. Above that, three enemy vessels – which she was sure now was Cylon in origin – a single Battlestar was sitting helpless between three Basestars, being pounded on all sides by warheads. Below, she could see the skies of the once blue and green globe of her homeworld turning a stagnant dark brown.

"Why…?" said Rebecca, pulling back from the glass and looking at Cavil.

"What do you mean why?" said Cavil, looking out the window and admiring the destruction. "You tried to condemn us to extinction forty years ago. We're simply returning the favour."

A blast near the window rocked the station, throwing Cavil to the floor and dropping his gun. As he got up he saw Rebecca was already holding it, pointing it at his head.

"Nice. It won't make much difference though. Soon you won't have anywhere to live. Your kind will become extinct."

"There are 29 billion humans in the four star systems. It'll take even you a while to murder us all."

"You have no idea how many there are. You have no hope, no salvation, nothing."

Rebecca glanced back out the window, keeping the gun trained on Cavil.

"At least they aren't doing too badly."

Cavil crawled to the window and looked out. The Battlestar Majestic was continuing to firing, taking down another Basestar as it charged through the crowded battlefield.

"How the frak can they do that? Our backdoor should've taken care of all colonial vessels."

"The Majestic has a proprietary computer system. Not aligned with the rest of the military. I doubt you'd considered that."

Cavil smiled as he spotted something above them. "No mater. We'll kill them eventually." He turned to face Rebecca, who was nervously pointing the gun at him. "Ready to meet your maker?" he said.

"What-what do you mean?"

Cavil stepped out of the way. "Come see for yourself."

Rebecca moved past him to look out. She didn't see it until it was too late.

The flaming hulk of the Battlestar Atlantia, her hull twisted and burning from repeated nuclear strikes, was on a collision course with the station.

Rebecca screamed and tried to run, but Cavil grabbed her, dropping the gun in the process. He dragged her back to the window and put her face on the glass, forcing her to watch the thing that would kill her in a matter of seconds.

"Smile human… you're about to become history."

The Atlantia slammed into the station, ripping through the docking ring and ploughing head on into the central column. Her momentum slowed as she encountered resistance from the shattered structure, but components inside the dying Battlestar not secured down went hurtling forwards, tearing through bulkheads and any unfortunate human still left alive.

Two of her eight reactors, which had become damaged when the ship hit the station, went critical, causing a devastating explosion. The engineering section blasted outward like a blossoming flower, sending her engines in all directions, one of which collided with another Battlestar. The blast sent the Atlantia deeper into the station, breaking it in half.

Finally, a handful of nuclear warheads streaked out of the nearest Basestar and put the Virgon space station out of its misery. The bright star briefly illuminating the skies above Virgon as the one-sided battle entered its final stages.

…

Virgon-Cavil entered the room and sat down.

"I just took a Battlestar to the face" he said.

"I rode a building down as it collapsed" said Tauron-Cavil.

"I flew" said Sagittaron-Cavil.

"You win" said Virgon-Cavil reluctantly.

"How's it going out there, brother?" asked Aquaria-Cavil.

"Nicely. Having forty percent of the Colonial Military in one place made it very easy for me. It was also fun watching the ships go boom."

"Well, we're halfway there" said Picon-Cavil. "Lets see how the rest of this experiment plays out."

…

**Next Colony – Aerilon**


End file.
